New Jersey Scuba Diving

Southern Leopard Frog

Rana utricularia

Size: to 3.5"

Habitat: in and around water

Notes: Sometimes wanders well away from water.

Tadpoles are larval frogs. They prefer quiet vegetated waters, where they feed on algae, although under adverse conditions they may even become cannibals. Tadpoles are clumsy swimmers and are usually found in waters devoid of predatory fish, such as temporary pools. Eventually, they grow legs, lose the tail, and climb out of the water as frogs ( or toads. ) Anyone who hasn't raised a tadpole in a jar has missed a part of their childhood.

The Buddy System Re-examined

By Alex Brylske
Reprinted from Dive Training
Sept. 1996

PARALLELS ARE OFTEN DRAWN BETWEEN DIVING AND FLYING. Both take place in an environment where the ambient pressure is different than the earth's surface - where we spend most of our time breathing - and both require formal training to qualify as a participant. Yet, on one point the two activities diverge completely. In flying, the highlight of a pilot's life is his or her first opportunity to solo - to operate the aircraft alone. In fact, after earning a private pilot's license, aviators commonly fly with no one other than God as their copilot.

Not so in diving; the admonition to "never dive alone" is considered the hallmark of safe diving.

To most divers, entering the water without a buddy is tantamount to a pilot taking off without doing a preflight check of the airplane. But to assume that buddy diving is an absolute universal practice would be a mistake. Lots of divers dive solo. Some do it intentionally, but most end up sans buddy completely by accident.

More: The Buddy System Re-examined ...

Southern Leopard Frog

Reptiles & Amphibians

The Buddy System Re-examined